DRIVING theory tests should include questions on the dangerous influence of recreational drugs, the BSM said yesterday.

DRIVING theory tests should include questions on the dangerous influence of recreational drugs, the BSM said yesterday.

The driving school has called for action to stem what it fears is a growth in numbers of drivers under the influence of illicit drugs.

Motorists aged between 17 and 34 were four times more likely than 35-to-54-year-olds to have driven under the influence of cannabis or marijuana in the past year, according to an RAC report this year.

BSM managing director Paul Atkinson said, "We're missing a golden opportunity to use the theory test to alert new drivers to the very real dangers of drug-driving.

"All driver training agencies should be constantly hammering home the point that cannabis can reduce your reaction time and impair your co-ordination, while cocaine and Ecstasy can make you over-confident and more liable to take risks behind the wheel."

The BSM, formerly the British School of Motoring, said the present theory tests only contain questions relating to prescription drugs.

A spokeswoman for the Driving Standards Agency, which sets the tests, said there were questions relating to drugs in the theory tests, though not specifically recreational drugs. "We constantly update the theory test questions and we may look into this in the future."